1 Timothy 6:11-21
English Standard Version

Fight the Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.

Grace be with you.

These are the last words of 1 Timothy (we'll start looking at 2 Timothy next time).  Paul ends this letter in a way different than most of his other letters.  Typically there is some final greeting to the church and a list of all of the people Paul wants to thank (sometimes also a list of people to watch out for because they have turned against Paul and the gospel), and some form of "peace be with you all."  That's not what we get here though.  Paul tells Timothy that he's going to have to fight and contend for the faith from both enemies outside the church and inside the church (notice I'm using a lower-case 'c' for 'church' here because these enemies are not part of the Church that is made of the redeemed, though pastors find the attacks from within the Church hardest).

In the midst of the battle, Paul reminds Timothy to not become like the enemy to try to beat the enemy.  He must remember to pursue and put on righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness, even as he is "fighting the good fight."  He must remember the eternal life that he was chosen (called) to have, and live in light of that calling and that gift.  It was because of this calling and gift that he has given his life to Christ in service as a minister of the gospel, and this calling was confirmed with a very public proclamation (probably some kind of ordination service) with many witnesses present.  Therefore, Paul reminds Timothy of his duty (as if he were a soldier in the army) to fight the true enemy, defend the Kingdom and King that he loves and to do all this without sacrificing his character (which can be difficult for a soldier who might want to win at any cost, in in the process they lose because they become the enemy they were trying to fight).

Paul reminds Timothy that he's fighting for a King and a Kingdom that are not of this world and the weapons of war of this world will not win this battle--this is a spiritual battle that is manifesting itself in our reality.  Jesus went to the cross and was raised from the dead to achieve ultimate victory, but the enemy has yet to concede that victory and, so, the battle rages on.  One day we will stand before Christ not as the one who will condemn us, but the one who will reward us.  On that day, we wish for Him to say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."  For the unrighteous, they will hear something very different when they stand before the Lord.  They will hear, "Depart from Me" into the "utter darkness" that is outside of the kingdom of His marvelous light where "there is weeping and gnashing of teeth."  We have eternal life only because He has given it to us.  In Him alone are both Light and Life.

He is the only Sovereign--the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.  His Name is above every name, and to Him alone we will ascribe all the glory and honor He is due, both now and forevermore!  His kingdom is without boundaries and without end.  He has no predecessor or successor.  He always has been and always will be the King Immortal, Eternal, Invisible.  This doxology seems like a perfect high note to end on, but Paul is not finished.

Paul returns to warn the rich (those who worship wealth and material possessions and are ensnared by them) that one day all the things they trust in and cling to will be destroyed.  Their riches will not be able to save them from the coming judgment.  Instead of trying to become rich by the world's standards, they should instead focus on becoming rich in the Kingdom of God by doing the good works that God prepared for them in Christ Jesus before the foundations of the world.  In this way, they will store up for themselves treasure in heaven and they will build their lives on the firm foundation of Christ that will hold fast both in this life and throughout all eternity.

Paul then pleads with Timothy to guard the deposit that he was entrusted with (his faith, the Word of God, the people of God) and to avoid irreverent talk, gossip, idle babble, and lies and deceptions of the false teachers and the world promising something "new."  Some have been caught off-guard by these hucksters who talk a good game, but they have nothing of value to offer, and Paul does not want Timothy to get led astray and veer off-course because of them.

Finally, Paul wishes Timothy "grace," but not "peace."  This is a message of contending with enemies without and within.  It is not a message that ends on a note of peace--peace will come when Christ returns for the Church and destroys those who are aligned with the kingdom of darkness--that is, the kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Satan and his Antichrist and False Prophet.  The age of the Apostles is coming to an end, and Timothy is going to have to contend for the faith and hold fast to what has been passed down and entrusted to him.

1 Timothy 6:3-10
​English Standard Version

False Teachers and True Contentment
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Your version may start this section in the last half of verse 2, but I covered that yesterday, so I'm starting this section with verse 3.  First, Paul reminds Timothy and the churches reading this letter that there will be false teachers who try to preach strange doctrines and things contrary to the clear teachings of Jesus.  The Church should not give audience to such men (or women) and should not let them confuse their message with the true gospel.  These false teachers reveal themselves by their conceit, pride, and lack of knowledge and understanding. 

They seek controversy and quarrels (they want to start fights--usually verbal, though sometimes physical) they argue about words, trying to twist them to mean something they clearly don't mean, and they produce envy, dissention, strife, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction among those who are depraved in mind and depraved of the truth--a harsh indictment against many who claim to have a faith they do not really have.  These false teachers look to fleece the flock of God and use their "godliness" for their own personal gain.  This is not the point of the gospel--in fact, it is antithetical to the gospel.

Instead, the true man of God should be both obedient to God and content with what the Lord has provided to him, entrusting the Lord and His people to take care of his needs.  All the true man of God needs is food and clothing (and probably shelter)--everything else offers opportunity to get ensnared by riches and an opportunity for temptation.  That is not to say that material possessions are bad, but they can easily distract us from the God work God is trying to do through us, especially for those called to be preachers and teachers.  We are to be careful because the love of money (not money in and of itself) is the root all kinds of evil (people will do lots of evil things to make money and acquire more stuff because they are greedy and covetous).  In fact, this craving is so powerful, it has drawn some people away from the true gospel that calls them to give up everything (including riches) in the here and now because Christ has something even better for us later, but some people love their money and their stuff too much.  This will cause them a lot of heartache and grief.

1 Timothy 6:1-2
English Standard Version

6 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.  Teach and urge these things.

This is not a heading in the ESV, but I broke it out as its own section separate from the discussion about honor due to elders (those who are older) and Elders (those who are in positions of leadership in the Church), and the discussion that was intermixed with that of benevolence.

These verses should tell us today how anyone with an employment agreement with their employer should treat their employer and any supervisor that employer puts in authority over them.  The Christian employee's supervisors and employer(s) should be treated with honor so that God would be glorified--even if you feel like a slave-laborer sometimes.  If you do not honor your employer and supervisors, then the name of God and the teaching of the Word of God will be reviled.

It is even more important for a Christian employee to be respectful to their employer/supervisor when they know that their employer/supervisor is also a Christian, because now that employer/supervisor is a brother or sister in Christ, and you would bring dishonor to God and His Word by being disrespectful to the one put in authority over you.  Instead, that employee can honor God and his employer/supervisor by being the best employee he or she can be.  We as Christian employees should be working for the good of our employer and customers/clients, not just our own self-centered "good" like the world tells us to do.  This will foster an even better opportunity for both of you to share the gospel in your workplace.

1 Timothy 5
English Standard Version

Instructions for the Church
5 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

3 Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, 6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. 7 Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

9 Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, 10 and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry 12 and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. 13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. 15 For some have already strayed after Satan. 16 If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are truly widows.

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

This passage is still within the context of the local church, and Paul now brings up the idea that we should treat each other like family (like family should treat each other, whether or not we come from a family that does is irrelevant to this discussion).  We are to put each others needs above our own, look out for and take care of each other, treat each other with dignity and respect, and have a lot of grace with each other as we love each other.

Next comes instructions on how to handle situations of benevolence and charity in the local Church.  The Jewish people had a system of alms and tithes with the Levites being responsible for collecting the tithes and storing and distributing them to people who were in need.  No such system exists in the churches in Gentile areas.  How do they decide who they are responsible to care for?  Should they give everyone everything they ask for? The short answer is "No."   In general, the principles taught here are that a person who is that able-bodied men are to support themselves and their families--and there seems to be an assumption here that men of any age should be able to find some kind of work to do that is in line with their age and level of ability.  The man who does not work should not eat and the man who claims to be a Christian and does not care for his wife and children does not have true faith and is worse than the pagans--at least they would be ashamed by this and know it is their responsibility to take care of their own.  The man who claims the name of Christ and does not support his family tarnishes not only his own name, but the name of the Church and the name of Christ.

So then, who should the church be caring for?  Paul is talking about a very specific group of people here--women over the age of 60 with no husband and no children who belong to the local congregation (they are on some kind of registry, which might presume church membership).  This registry probably assumes it will become to responsibility of a particular congregation to take care of this "true widow" and they will not church-shop looking for handouts from multiple churches to which they have no connection or affiliation.  Note that there need not be an assumption that someone needs taken care of just because they are old and single.  With things like pensions, Social Security, and retirement accounts, there are all kinds of ways that a husband could provide for the long-term care of his wife and children after his death.  So, it's very rare today to find a woman like the one described here who has no resources.  I don't love the fact that the government has taken over what we call welfare so that it is no longer connected with the Church, but that is the world we live in.  In some ways it makes it easier for the churches to refer those looking for help to Social Services, but Social Services cannot meet the spiritual needs of the people it serves.  Therefore, there is still a place for the Church to offer gospel-focused benevolence and charity.

Paul then warns that those receiving such care from the church should not use their idle time to become busybodies or gossips, but they should instead devote themselves to prayer (and maybe fasting along with it) as they pray for the needs of the congregation.

We now change topic and look back to the Elders of the Church (we just discussed the position of Elder in the last chapter).  Elders should be given double-honor.  They should be paid for their labor and they should receive the hospitality and gratitude of the congregation.  They should have all the needs of them and their families met by the congregation.  So, the Elders are now the group that replaces the Levites of the Old Testament that the tithe belonged to.  Similar to a man who does not care for his wife and children, a congregation who will not care for their pastor and his family should be ashamed and does not possess the faith they claim to have.  I switched to the word "pastor" here because the pastor is typically the one given to full-time ministry that is dependent on the Church.  Typically, though not always, the other Elders are laymen with other jobs to support them and their families and there are a plurality of Elders to help divide the duties enough to what it is only a part-time job for them .  The pastor should not have to have to be bi-vocational.  He should be able to give himself completely to fasting, prayer, and the study, teaching, and preaching of the Word.

The Church is to be careful about ordaining Elders.  They should not do so in a hasty manner, nor should they show partiality (favoritism) either for or against anyone outside of the boundaries laid out by God in the Scriptures.  Elders are to live in a way that is blameless and above reproach, however, they are not to be so concerned with what other people think of them that they neglect to take care of themselves.  The example given here is that Timothy was so concerned about this that he wouldn't drink any wine in private or public.  The water in ancient times was often contaminated and drinking a little wine was medicinal in that it would kill off the bacteria in the water to prevent dysentery and other ailments.  Paul tells Timothy that it's okay to drink a little wine for his stomach and he is not disqualified from being an Elder because he drinks a little alcohol for medicinal reasons (not to get drunk).

Paul finishes this section by coming back to the point of not being too hasty to lay hands on someone to ordain them to be an Elder.  If you wait a while, sin will find out those who should not be confirmed.  Their sin issues will become obvious to all and likewise the good works of those who are to be confirmed will also be conspicuous.  So then, we should be careful about who we appoint to lead our congregations and treat them with double-honor, and we should be charitable to all who are members of the household of faith (like they were our family), but most especially towards the older women who have no one else to take care of them and have no means by which to take care of themselves.  Such women are just the kind of people whom the Lord is calling into a special ministry of prayer and discipleship.

Different churches handle the questions of benevolence differently (hopefully in line with the principles taught in this passage) and there is no one right way to live out these principles.  If you have questions about your church's position and policy on these issues, I would encourage you to speak to your local church leadership (pastors, Elders, and Deacons), especially if you have any concerns after reading this passage.

1 Timothy 4:6-16
English Standard Version

A Good Servant of Christ Jesus
6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Paul tells Timothy to put "these things before the brothers" (teach and preach the Word of God to them, including all the things Paul has been talking to Timothy about in this letter), Timothy will be a seen as a good and faithful servant.  The Lord will cause people to see him as one who has been trained in the words of the faith (the Scriptures), even if he never went to seminary or walked with Jesus like the apostles of Jerusalem.  He will be seen as one who preaches and teaches sound doctrine, and he follow the Word of God and practices what he preaches.

He should have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths, and they certainly should not make their way into his sermons or times of teaching and preaching.  He doesn't need to keep up with the trendy and popular philosophies of the day.  People are coming to the Church to hear the truth of Scripture, not to hear the garbage that the world is already preaching to them that they know to be hollow and false.  So, Timothy should spend his time on what is important--training in righteousness which is valuable in this life and in the life to come.  There are not many things that you can take with you into eternity, but this is apparently one of them.  This is why Paul and his companions have dedicated their entire lives to the gospel and the teaching of the Word of Truth.  Their hope is not built on the things of this world, but their hope is in the Living God who is Savior to all people, especially (specifically) those who believe.

Yes, Timothy is to boldly command and teach the Word of God, even the parts that people are not going to like to hear.  Though Timothy may have been young compared to the congregation, the words he was preaching and teaching were ancient and no one is to despise him or deride him for being to young to be a minister.  The Lord called him in his youth to devote his entire life to service to the Lord.  He is to not only talk a good talk, but walk a good walk as he sets an example for all the believers, young and old, "in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity."

The people need to hear the Scriptures read aloud to them, at least until Paul comes to visit them.  Specifically, they need to let the Scriptures exhort and teach them.  They do not need the words of man that they can dismiss, but they need the Word of God that will never return void.  It will be a part of that self-selecting we talked about before with those who must choose to put themselves under the authority of God and His Word or those who seek the approval of the world and to continue to walk in darkness and sin.  The Word of God will confront all these issues as we preach and teach it faithfully and it will encourage the true believers to grow and become more like Christ and prepare them more to be in heaven one day, and it will separate the false teachers and apostates who will not submit to His authority and they will show everyone that they are destined for destruction.

The next part is unclear to me.  Paul tells Timothy not to neglect the gift that was given to him and to not forget the prophecy that was spoken over him when the council of elders laid hands on him.  In the context of this passage, I would assume this is pointing to his calling as a pastor and his ordination and the way that the Spirit came upon Timothy to do the work that God called him to do, but some try to make this out to be something else.  The text is not clear as to what the gift is, so I don't think we're to make a big deal about it, but it was something Paul knew that Timothy needed to remember--God had in some way confirmed his calling and he needed to remember that calling and the confirmation when things got hard.  He was to remember that the calling came from God and not from man and it was to God that he would one day give an account and it would be God who would one day deem him to be a "good and faithful" servant.

Timothy's study of Scripturas and pursuit of holiness should be so public that everyone would see his progress.  He is to carefully guard himself and his teaching because others will be watching for him to mess up or will be looking for him to be an example and he will be held accountable by God if he leads others astray by his words or his actions.  Only through a proclamation of the gospel that is made with both words and actions will those that he preaches to week after week truly understand the gospel and  come to the point of salvation.  He also will need the constant reminder himself that he has been saved by God's work through Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit because he will know none of this would be possible apart from the salvation that God provided him, and that God saved him for a purpose--to preach the Word both in season and out of season.  We too are called to be ministers of the same gospel and the same Word.  We may not all be called to give our lives to preaching and teaching like Timothy, but we are all to talk and walk in such a way that men will understand the gospel better when they see how it ahs transformed us and how God lives in and through us.

1 Timothy 4:1-5
English Standard Version

Some Will Depart from the Faith
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

This is a question I hear a lot (in fact, I was essentially having this conversation with a good friend the night before writing this).  In the last days, many people will be deceived, and many will harden their hearts.  Instead of devoting themselves to the Lord, they will instead devote themselves to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons (many will be so deceived they do not even know they are devoting themselves to to these deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, but they are).  I will not try to list all the things that fall into this category because the enemy's tactics are sure to change over time and also there is no way to make an exhaustive list because there is only one right way to tell the truth and nearly an infinite amount of ways to lie about that truth by withholding true information, adding false information or implying that it means something completely different than what it actually says (like Satan did in the temptation of Jesus when he somewhat accurately quoted the book of Psalms to Jesus, though out of context, and tried to us God's Word as a justification for why Jesus should give into the devil's temptation).

Those who are led astray exchange the truth of God for a lie because they want to believe the lie (see Romans 1).  There is not a single person born neutral who isn't bent towards rebellion against God.  This is the meaning of Original Sin and is the result of the Fall of Adam.  These liars come up with all kinds of cults who do things like forbidding marriage or denying people the pleasure of enjoying the good things that God has made for them (like all the different kinds of food, both from plants and animals) that He has given to us to eat.  This is probably one of the clearest verses you can point to saying that you have the freedom to eat without trying to follow the dietary laws of the Old Covenant (there are a couple other ones).  That being said, Paul instructs us other places to be careful about when people are trying to test us and when there are people around us who feel it to be a violation of their conscience to eat something they think would defile them or hurt their testimony, or that would lead them into sin.  Feel free to ask me if you have questions about this.

While this last part seems to be a deviation from the message of being careful about false teachers and the deception of evil spirits and their false teachings, it is connected.  Most of the lies start with someone being ungrateful for the good things God has given to them, a lack of godly contentment, and even a spirit of covetousness that desires something you believe is good that God is withholding from you or another person you love.  Go back to the Garden of Eden--the temptation of the devil wouldn't have worked if Adam and Eve had focused on all the good trees that the LORD told them they could eat from.  Eve did say this, but she let the devil put her focus on the one tree that was forbidden and let the devil tell her that God was trying to withhold something good from her (He was not, He was trying to keep her safe).  Satan is still using the same playbook today.  The lies may sound different, but they take the form of telling you to not take God at His Word, God cannot be trusted, you must choose what is good and evil for yourself, and to ignore or deny the consequences of your choice and to just do what feels good in the moment.  The result of sin is always brokenness between God and Man and between fellow men.  Watch out for false teachers who attempt to deceive even the Elect if possible, and understand that in the last days there will be a time of great apostasy (many will turn away from the so-called faith that they never really had).  This should not surprise us and is part of God separating the "sheep" from the "goats"--in the end, all those who belong to the kingdom of this world will be deceived by the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and Satan.  They will take the mark of the beast and gladly swear their allegiance to a kingdom of this world that is opposed to God and all He stand for.  (More on the last days/end times as we continue to study 1&2 Timothy, Titus, and Revelation).

1 Timothy 3:14-16
English Standard Version

The Mystery of Godliness
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,
    vindicated by the Spirit,
        seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
    believed on in the world,
        taken up in glory.

Paul hopes to be able to visit Timothy and others reading this soon, but because he knows that's not up to him, but up to the Lord, he wants to give full instructions regarding appropriate Christian conduct.  Notice this doesn't say that he's giving conduct on how one should act in church, for we are part of the Church all the time wherever we are.  So, these aren't just rules for Sunday worship services, but rules for everyday living as we who have been adopted by the Father are always "in the household of God."  (More on these rules for right conduct as we continue our study, but Paul is going to break out in doxology for a few verses here).

The words of the next verses are set apart as being a poem or song lyrics or possibly a creed of some kind.  Paul loved to teach the churches by using short creedal statements that they could repeat and maybe even sing.  This is a perfect one for today as today is Easter Sunday 2026.  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (see John 1).  He was vindicated by the Spirit and seen by angels (probably speaking of His resurrection) and then proclaimed among the nations starting with Pentecost.  Now there are believers of Christ in all the world, and He is currently at the right hand of the Father, seated in glory.  There He awaits His glorious return for His Bride and the end of days when He will pour out His wrath on His enemies and rescue those who belong to Him and will deliver the redeemed to the eternal place He has prepared for them.  Then we will be with God and Him with us forever and ever.